Such Great Heights
by bitterending
Summary: Songfic. It's so beautiful when you're looking down on it. ...but you have to come down some time. I hate to put the disclaimer in the summmary, but here it is: I do not own the song Such Great Heights, nor do I own the comics JtHM.


_I am thinking it's a sign that the freckles_

_In our eyes are mirror images and when_

_We kiss they're perfectly aligned_

"The fix is probably pretty obvious." Johnny grumbled, more to himself than to Devi, who was perched innocently on the roof of his car-mere inches away from him. He let out a sigh and continued, "Maybe I just need to stand back, look at the situation from a new perspective. That kinda shit."

He stole a glance at Devi, who was staring quietly out at the gleaming lights. When she realized he was expecting a response, she looked down at her shoes. He turned and looked at her face, seeing it contort into a mask of concentration, planning out the perfect words to say. He scooted up further on the hood of his car and brushed his arm gently over her leg. She didn't seem to notice, but Johnny felt a sudden dizziness at the contact.

_And I have to speculate that God himself_

_Did make us into corresponding shapes like_

_Puzzle pieces from the clay_

As he watched her in silence, he wondered if he should just be honest with her. Maybe she wouldn't be like the others. Maybe she wouldn't run away and scream. It might even be possible that she'd understand. Sure, she'd said that without her painting, it would be _she_ that died-not 'innocent' passerby. But maybe she'd see his point. She could have just been hiding her true colours in fear of being thought insane. Maybe if he said something, she'd admit to the same.

_True, it may seem like a stretch, but_

_Its thoughts like this that catch my troubled_

_Head when you're away when I am missing you to death_

"Maybe not." She answered shortly. It was obvious that Johnny wanted more of an answer than that, so she raised her head and looked up at the view. "I mean, look out at that city." She said aloud, gesturing towards it as she pressed on, "Looks nice enough when you look at it from this far out."

Johnny was quiet, watching the lights flicker and shimmer as she paused to let him see the true beauty of the glowing metropolis. Devi took a deep breath and continued, the mystic sound in her voice turning deep and cynical as she flicked her wrist out to the scenery once again. "Get down there and all the horrible details start coming out." She said bitterly, and Johnny almost heard himself speaking in time with her as she finished her rant darkly, "People…like blemishes on some sad, concrete organism." Johnny felt his heart racing. He wasn't sure why it was beating so fast…out of fear or excitement, but he said nothing and waited for her to say something more. "A closer look into what's wrong with you might scare the shit out of you."

_When you are out there on the road for_

_Several weeks of shows and when you scan_

_The radio, I hope this song will guide you home_

There was a long pause as Johnny felt himself nod slowly at her point. It was almost eerie. Their minds seemed almost exactly alike at times, and yet she seemed so beautifully naive to how he was. He sighed and stared at the glittering bustle of the city, noticing for the first time how captivating it looked from this far away. He let out a sigh and wished how they could just stay up here forever, and he'd never have to go home and face his own horrible details.

_They will see us waving from such great_

_Heights, 'come down now,' they'll say_

_But everything looks perfect from far away,_

_'Come down now,' but we'll stay..._

He looked up at Devi, who looked almost as hypnotized as he felt. She let out a soft sigh, and she looked down at Johnny, as if she wanted him to say something. There was a brief eternity between them and he smiled at her. It wasn't the kind of smile he often found on his face when looking in the mirror-straining, painful…fake. She smiled back at him, her brilliant teeth reflecting the neon of the urban below. "It's so pretty when you're looking down on it." She murmured.

_They will see us waving from such great_

_Heights, 'come down now,' they'll say_

_But everything looks perfect from far away,_

_'Come down now,' but we'll stay..._

Too many months had passed since he'd seen her. It felt like a year since he'd spoken to her, not counting that horrible night where everything took a turn for the worse. Without thinking, Johnny picked up the phone and dialed Devi's number. He listened to it ring twice, and be transferred to an automated message.

_"Hello. You've reached Devi D. I'm probably in, but I don't feel like talking to you. On the very slim chance that I'm out _there _and you think I'd like to talk to you when I got back home, you're probably wrong, but leave your name and number anyway."_

Johnny cringed. It felt like that message was recorded especially for him. He heard the tinny beep and opened his mouth to apologize. To tell her how much he missed her. To tell her he may even love her. To say _something_. Instead, he set the phone back into its cradle, turning away and pretending he'd never even tried.

_I tried my best to leave this all on your_

_Machine but the persistent beat it sounded_

_Thin upon listening_

He tried hard to forget about her, like he'd done the few others he'd gotten close to, but he couldn't even go an hour without her image passing through his mind. A fleeting thought, like lyrics to a song he hadn't heard in years. He tried again to call her, but again she didn't answer the phone, and the message seemed even harsher than it had before. He hung up before he even heard the tone out of fear she may pick it up this time.

_That frankly will not fly. You will hear_

_The shrillest highs and lowest lows with_

_The windows down when this is guiding you home_

Johnny sat silently on the hood of the car, watching the city dance below him through his tears as he scratched words from his mind to the paper of his journal. He looked up at where Devi had sat almost a year before, almost able to see her sitting there again, her legs dangling over the windshield, grinning at him like the Cheshire cat.

_"It's so beautiful when you're looking down on it." _

He cleared his throat to keep his crying in control. He turned away from the memory and looked down at the sea of bright lights.

_'In the time I write in this book again, I hope to be as cold as the moon that lights the page.'_ He scribbled, lightly setting the diary down and leaning over the edge of the fence to glare at the faux beauty of the city. With a deep breath, he took a final glance of Devi, still sitting on the roof of the car as solidly as she had been ten months ago. He nodded at her and repeated his own words of that night. "Yes. It's an amazing illusion." He whispered before turning and plunging off the side of the cliff.

_They will see us waving from such great_

_Heights, 'come down now,' they'll say_

_But everything looks perfect from far away,_

_'Come down now,' but we'll stay..._


End file.
